3 year old Texas boy accidentally shoots self dead during Porter birthday party after finding pistol which had fallen out of family member’s pocket.
Happy birthday! A three-year-old Texas boy was killed this weekend after he accidentally shot himself after coming across a gun during his birthday party, authorities said.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office revealed the ‘incident’ happening on Saturday during the unidentified child’s birthday celebration.
Around 4.15pm, authorities were dispatched to a home in Porter, 25 miles northeast of Houston, for a welfare check, only to find the boy with a gunshot wound in his chest.
‘Family and friends had gathered earlier to celebrate the birthday of the three-year-old, and while playing cards, heard a gunshot,’ a press release said.
Authorities discovered that the boy found the pistol after it fell out of a family member’s pocket.
The child’s family and friends told investigators that they were playing cards when they heard a gunshot and the boy was found with a chest wound, according to the statement. He was rushed to a nearby fire station where he succumbed to his wounds and died that evening.
‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this tragic accident.,’ the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office added.
The episode comes amid a swath of similar cases involving children and gun safety.
Earlier this month, a three-year-old boy from Aloha, Oregon, died after finding a loaded firearm in his home and accidentally shooting himself in the head.
On October 22, a five-year-old girl was shot dead by a young family member who used an unsecured gun found inside a Merced, California, home.
The Gun Violence Archive reports that 1,063 children under the age of 18 have been killed by guns, while 2,926 have been injured.
The Gun Safety Support Fund said there have been at least 229 unintentional shootings by children this year, leaving 87 dead and 139 injured.
